


got time for you (time for two)

by gilligankane



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-17
Updated: 2018-04-17
Packaged: 2019-04-24 04:32:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14348025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gilligankane/pseuds/gilligankane
Summary: “It’s your night with Moses,” Vanessa reminds her. “That’s why we weren’t going to be able to see each other, right?”“Right you are.” Charity shrugs a shoulder, still pressed close. Vanessa can feel it move under her arm. “Or were. Tracy took him for the night. Something about a sleepover at Frank’s house with Johnny.”





	got time for you (time for two)

**Author's Note:**

> Again, thanks to thegirl20 for the language lessons.

“Tracy, honestly,” Vanessa huffs. “I have to get Johnny from the childmind-”

“Already did it. Dropped him with Dad,” Tracy sings, pushing at Vanessa. She’s trying to get them from the surgery to Tug Ghyll as quick as she can, but Vanessa is stalling, her feet sliding in the gravel. “Get a move on, woman.”

Vanessa turns, catching Tracy’s hands in her own. “If Dad has Johnny, then maybe I can sneak off to the pub for a bit.” Her eyes glaze over. “Charity might be able to nip out for five minutes. Chas was feeling better today.”

Tracy shakes her head firmly, even as Vanessa pouts at her. “We can’t be late.”

“Late for  _ what _ ?” Vanessa frowns at her. “Why did you pick Johnny up?”

Tracy feigns shock. “I need a  _ reason _ to pick up my nephew, do I?”

“Yes,” Vanessa says flatly. “What’ve you done?”

Tracy rolls her eyes and pushes at Vanessa a little harder, forcing her forward again. “Just trust me, yeah?”

“Not as far as I can throw you,” Vanessa mutters. She folds her arms over her chest, looking for all the world like Johnny being put to bed, but she lets herself be led towards Tug Ghyll reluctantly.

Tracy stops her at the door, a sudden nervousness in her eyes. “You know I love you.”

“Okay, now you’re making me nervous.” Vanessa narrows her eyes at Tracy. 

Tracy nods at the front door and backs away carefully. “Go on, then.”

Vanessa looks between Tracy and the door, eyeing them both suspiciously. “Tracy, I don’t know what you’re playing at, but-”

“Go,” Tracy repeats, smiling. “I’ll be with Dad and Megan and the kids, if you end up needing anything.”

“The  _ kids _ ?” Vanessa repeats. “But I only have the one!” she shouts after Tracy.

“I think she means the both of ours, babe,” Charity says from behind her.

Vanessa turns too quickly, nearly losing her footing. She feels familiar hands at her elbows, steadying her as she sways to one side. 

“Careful there, rocket woman,” Charity scolds gently. She keeps her hands tight around Vanessa’s arms. “I know I told you I’d rock your world, but I didn’t mean it quite so literal.”

Vanessa rolls her eyes, but she smiles. She rests her hands on Charity’s waist, smiling. “Hi.”

“Hi,” Charity murmurs. She leans in, kissing Vanessa softly. She starts to pull away, but Vanessa follows her, hands flexing against Charity’s waist. “Missed me, did you?”

“More than I’d care to admit to the whole village,” Vanessa says. She nods towards the front door. “Shall we?”

Charity’s hand slides down her arm, tangling their fingers together easily. Vanessa lets herself enjoy the familiar contact, the casual ease with which their palms press together and  _ fit _ . They’d been apart for only a day, but Vanessa had felt the absence of Charity in a way that made her whole body ache - she hadn’t known she’d miss Charity’s touch until she wasn’t allowed to have it any more. Now she doesn’t let go, even as she struggles to get out of her coat; she rests her free hand on Charity’s hip as she wiggles free.

“What did mean when you said Tracy was talking about both of our kids?” she asks, putting her boots by the door.

Charity traps her against the door, a hand on either side of Vanessa’s head. “She didn’t say?”

Vanessa runs her fingers along the collar of Charity’s blouse. It’s one of her favorites, the black one with the zip that stops just above the swell of Charity’s bra. “Picked me up from work and wouldn’t let me go to the pub,” she says absently. 

“Good job, innit? Seeing as how I’m here and not there.” Charity leans in, her forehead resting against Vanessa’s. Vanessa’s hand cards into Charity’s hair, pushing it back over her shoulder. “Chas might not have appreciated the welcome.”

“I don’t know,” Vanessa hums. “My pregnancy made me all kinds of-”

“Not an image I’d like, thank you very much.” Charity brushes her nose against Vanessa’s. “You and Chas, I mean.”

“I know what you meant,” Vanessa says. She tips her head up, finding Charity’s mouth easily. “But speaking of kids,” she starts.

Charity frowns for a moment. “Oh, right.”

“It’s your night with Moses,” Vanessa reminds her. “That’s why we weren’t going to be able to see each other, right?”

“Right you are.” Charity shrugs a shoulder, still pressed close. Vanessa can feel it move under her arm. “Or were. Tracy took him for the night. Something about a sleepover at Frank’s house with Johnny.”

Vanessa studies Charity’s face, taking in the slight distrust in her eyes and the small wrinkle on her forehead. “And you’re alright with that?”

Charity opens her mouth to answer, but sighs at the look on Vanessa’s face. “No,” she finally says. “But I trust Tracy, don’t I?”   


Vanessa smiles softly. “That’s big of you.”

“I’m all about growth, me,” Charity says dryly. “Besides, Tracy wasn’t joking about. Said she’d never watch Johnny on date night again.” Charity purses her lips. “Couldn’t well turn her down then.”

Vanessa presses gently against the back of Charity’s neck, trying to get her to duck her head and kiss her. Charity doesn’t give, the corners of her mouth turning up instead. “Come here,” Vanessa says, annoyed.

“I’m going nowhere,” Charity says.

Something clicks hard in Vanessa’s chest. The tone is joking; Charity is teasing her. But the words sink deep inside Vanessa’s chest and warm a part of her that she thought had gone cold. They loosen the weight in her chest, the one that settled there the minute the knock came on the very door she’s pressed against. 

The words feel like the closest thing next to  _ I love you _ , and she holds them tight, savoring them each time Charity breathes them out. 

“Except into the living room,” Charity continues. “Because I think I smell Marlon’s fish and chips and I’ve not had a break today.”

Vanessa pouts, pushing some of Charity’s hair back behind her ear. “You didn’t?”

“I let Chas have them,” Charity says, her eyes softening. She scoffs quickly, looking away to hide the sympathy in her eyes. “Better chance of getting a longer break for tea with you, I figured.”

“You like me,” Vanessa sings.

Charity rolls her eyes, pushing off the door. “Don’t let it go to your head.”

“It already has,” Vanessa continues in the same sing-song voice. “You  _ care _ .”

Charity turns, eyes sharp but warm. “Quite a bit,” she says quietly.

Vanessa inhales sharply.

“But I don’t like you as much as I like Marlon’s chips,” Charity adds, running her hand along the back of the couch. “So you’d do best to remember that.”

Vanessa rolls her eyes and follows Charity to the kitchen table, leaning into her side as they take it in. She picks up the small note in front of the centerpiece - a small bouquet of flowers Tracy pulled from the roadside, stuffed into a pint glass.

“Dear girls,” Vanessa reads aloud. “I wanted to do something for you both, since you’ve been dead nice during these past few weeks. Johnny and Moses are with me at Dad’s and we’ll meet you at the Cafe for some brunch in the morning. There’s fish and chips, I recorded  _ Titanic _ off the telly last night, and there’s wine in the fridge. Love you.” She looks up. “And there’s a bunch of x’s and o’s.”

Charity is smiling softly, eyes on the small candles spread around the table. “Better not waste it, yeah?”

“You just want to eat,” Vanessa accuses, pulling out a chair and nodding at it. “Have a sit, then. I’ll pour the wine.”

Charity snatches a chip out of the dish on the table and pops it into her mouth, chewing happily.   
  


-

  
“Are you honestly crying?” Vanessa asks, feeling something wet against the back of her neck. She leans forward, turning her head to see Charity.

Charity elbows her gently, sniffing. “Give over. I  _ told _ you, this movie makes me cry.”

“I thought you were trying to get a rise out of me!”

“The look on your face when I said that was-  _ Oi _ ,” Charity hisses.

Vanessa purses her lips, her fingers still hovering over Charity’s thigh where she just pinched the fabric of her jeans. “I still can’t believe you took a picture of that,” she grumbles.

Charity sighs wistfully, winding her arm around Vanessa’s chest, pulling her until she’s leaning back again. They’re stretched out across the couch, feet up on the coffee table. Charity had picked Vanessa’s favorite corner, patting the empty space next to her. Slowly, over the course of the movie, Vanessa had sunken back until her head was on Charity’s chest and Charity’s arm was low around her waist. Her free arm is across Vanessa’s chest now, holding her tightly. Charity’s lips are warm and dry against her forehead as she speaks. “I still have it in my phone.”

Vanessa pinches Charity again.

Charity barely flinches. “I sneak a peek whenever I need a laugh.”

Vanessa rolls her eyes. “I should make you delete that.”

“But you won’t,” Charity argues. Her hand is flat against Vanessa’s stomach, fingers just barely under the hem of her jumper. She curls her fingers, her nails scratching Vanessa’s bare skin. It sends a small shiver through Vanessa’s body. “You like knowing you make me laugh, yeah?”

Vanessa presses her hand down over Charity’s. “That tickles.”

Charity smiles against the side of her head. “Does it, babe?” she asks innocently.

Vanessa tugs at Charity’s wrist until her hand is on top of her jumper, and she laces their fingers together. She sighs softly, content. It’s been days since she sat on this couch, sobbing alongside Tracy as she wondered how she could get Charity to take her back, but she pushes that thought away and revels in this moment, curled up alongside Charity, wondering what Charity even sees in this movie.

“You think it’s romantic, do you?” Charity asks.

“Sitting here while you poke fun at me?” Vanessa asks. “Not particularly.”

“No,” Charity says, her voice quiet in Vanessa’s ear. “That he dies for her.”

Vanessa looks back at the telly, trying to focus on the screen. She does love Leonardo Dicaprio -  _ The Beach _ is her favorite movie for a reason, though she’s wondering if it has more to do with Tilda Swinton than Leo - but  _ Titanic _ was not one she liked much. She shrugs, turning her head so that Charity’s mouth is against her forehead now, her ear over Charity’s heartbeat.

“I suppose some might think it’s romantic.”

“But you don’t,” Charity guesses.

Vanessa takes a deep breath, her eyes closing. “What was that thing you said to Tracy? Remember? About the people you give your love to?”

Charity is quiet for a moment, but Vanessa can hear the slight pickup of her heartbeat, thudding just a little faster under her ear. “The people you give your love to, it’s their job to make your burden a little bit lighter,” she recites.

“That one,” Vanessa breathes out. “Do you think he made her burden lighter?”

“He made that door a little lighter, yeah?” Charity asks, her voice hoarse.

“You’re a riot,” Vanessa mutters.

On screen, Kate Winslet pushes up onto her tiptoes. Vanessa’s own feet ache with the thought.

“No,” Charity says after a minute. “He let her live the rest of her life missing him. And that’s not fair, is it? To have someone and then lose them just as quickly. It’s… It’s...”

Vanessa hums softly. She runs her thumb across the back of Charity’s thumb, feeling the tension in her arm. There’s something Charity isn’t telling her, but Vanessa has learned her lesson. She won’t push, and she won’t pull away when Charity finally feels safe enough to share it. Instead, she’ll settle for being  _ here _ ; she’ll revel in being  _ with _ Charity, in being the person Charity picked.

“I don’t think it’s romantic,” Vanessa admits. “To die for someone. I think it’s more romantic to live for them.”

Charity’s breath hitches, the sound loud in Vanessa’s ear. 

“And it was flaming selfish of her not to move over,” Vanessa continues. “That door could fit both of them, yeah? But she makes him float in the ocean like an ice lolly, doesn’t she.”

Charity snorts softly before laughing loudly, her whole body shifting as she does. Vanessa pushes up, grinning widely at Charity. “Would you share your door with me, Vanessa Woodfield?” she asks, mimicking an accent Vanessa can’t quite make out.

“I’d share a lot more than that,” Vanessa murmurs, her eyes drifting to Charity’s lips.

“Would you?” Charity asks quietly, her breath hot against Vanessa’s face.

Vanessa nods wordlessly, feeling her chest rising and falling shallowly.

“What about your bed?” Charity asks in that same quiet voice.

“Def… Definitely that,” Vanessa manages, the words breaking as Charity’s tongue slips out and wets her bottom lip. Charity’s hand drifts across her stomach again, sliding under her jumper. Vanessa doesn’t move it this time, her body leaning into the touch.

Charity wiggles her eyebrows. “Wanna go upstairs so you can draw me like one of your French girls?”

Vanessa laughs, pushing at Charity’s wandering hands. “I’ve got no drawing skills,” she says.

“I wondered if those were Johnny’s pieces of art on the freezer there,” Charity teases. “But I’m guessing their yours, babe?”

Vanessa turns clumsily, nearly kneeing Charity in the side as she hovers above her. She settles on Charity’s lap, pulling her hair into a messy pile and tucking it over her shoulder. She pulls at the zip on Charity’s shirt, slowing inching it down. “How about we stay right here and I make something else a little lighter?” she asks, pushing Charity’s shirt off her shoulder. She leans down and kisses the bare skin there, letting her mouth linger for a moment.

“Way ahead of you, babe,” Charity whispers, her fingers already working the button on Vanessa’s jeans. She pauses, her hands hot against Vanessa’s skin. “You do, you know,” she says casually. Her voice is tight, though, like she’s teetering on the edge of a truth she’s not sure how to say out loud yet.

“I do what?” Vanessa asks, bunching the hem of Charity’s shirt in her hands, dragging it up her body.

“Make it a little lighter,” Charity admits. Her eyes flash and the corner of her mouth pulls up half-heartedly. “Must be all that yellow you insist on owning, yeah?”

“Charity,” Vanessa breathes out. She presses her hand to Charity’s cheek, pulling her attention up. There’s hesitation lingering in Charity’s eyes and Vanessa’s chest aches a little. “I look good in yellow,” she finally says, swallowing hard.

“Know what else you look good in?” Charity asks. “ _ Nothing _ .”

Vanessa laughs softly, ducking her head. “Of course,” she says, rolling her eyes affectionately. “Mind always in the  _ gutter _ , isn’t it.”

“Always on  _ you _ ,” Charity says. Her cheeks flush, as if she’s embarrassed to admit it.

Vanessa brushes her thumb across the top of Charity’s cheekbone. “Amazing, wonderful you,” she mumbles, bottom lip brushing against Charity’s. “Come here.”

Charity kisses her sweetly and Vanessa makes a note to thank Tracy for this night, before Charity’s tongue slides into her mouth as her hands slide across Vanessa’s back and Vanessa can’t think of anything at all.


End file.
